In an unfortunate decision, the Department of the Interior did not designate the Greater Sage Grouse an endangered species, though the bird’s status will be reviewed yearly, because scientists at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service had determined that the bird is endangered, but not as endangered as other species, meaning that the grouse would be categorized as “warranted but precluded.”

Despite the fact that the bird did not get listed as an endangered species, one gibbering idiot, Republican representative Rob Bishop of Utah, was not happy: “Today’s unnecessary federal designation is one more on a growing list of examples that this administration places environmental special interests before job creation.”

Even he wasn’t as big a jerk as another Republican representative from Utah, Jason Chaffetz, “The only good place for a sage grouse to be listed is on the menu of a French bistro,” he said recently. “It does not deserve federal protection, period.”

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.